Auto News 5

BMW has redesigned its roadster for 2009, and the change amounts to comprehensive maturation, if not quite the obvious transformation from newborn Z3 to adolescent Z4. The new two-seater retains the name Z4, but it adopts two clumsy new model designations, the sDrive30i and sDrive35i. You'll notice there's no M roadster anymore, and word is that none is forthcoming. Nor will we see a return of the historically slow-selling hatchback coupe variant.

As technical editor Don Sherman implied when he reviewed these updated trucks, the Colorado/Canyon twins should have been launched like this--with a small-block V-8 under the hood instead of the weakling four-cylinder or the not-much-better in-line five. The V-8-powered Colorado now has increased towing and hauling capabilities, and it's significantly quicker than its fewer-cylindered stablemates (less than seven seconds to 60 mph, according to both Sherman and General Motors). But what really struck me is the fantastic sound of the 5.3-liter V-8. Floor it between about 2500 and 4500 rpm, and the mill just roars. I actually opened the sliding rear window just so I could hear a less insulated rendition of the motor music. I even think this Colorado deserves more prominent tailpipes (big-tipped, straight dual exhausts, anyone?) to announce its power; I blew away a GMC Canyon at a light, but I don't think the other driver had a clue about what had happened.

There is a reality that is hard to escape; if you want to conserve energy regarding transportation, it helps to reduce the mass one needs to transport.

At SAE 2009, in the basement of Detroit's aging Cobo Center, I met Jon Bereisa, Director of GM's Fuel Cell Propulsion program. I had just completed a drive in one of the hydrogen-powered Chevrolet Equinox SUVs.

One standard of the utopian vision for civilization's future is clean, low-impact, personal transportation. The Segway scooter seemed to embody much of that vision, but with a price starting at $5,000, the geeky looking gyro-balanced scooter hasn't quite taken the nation's sidewalks by storm.